Generations of Potters
by Last.one.02
Summary: Set a month after Generation Next. Hermione is visiting Hogwarts to talk with 7th year students about career options, but she also discusses Harry and Sirius with McGonagall, has a chat with Teddy and Sirius, who is in trouble. Trelawney had a surprise for Harry and Hermione, which naturally annoys Hermione and amuses Harry. Some fluffy H/Hr. Updated and right story posted!


The yellow-orange flames danced in the fireplace. Minerva McGonagall was working away behind her desk in the distance, she had a parchment in front of her, she pushed her square spectacles on her nose and sighed. She dipped her quill into ink and read over the words she had written. It was a letter to her student's parents. It saddened and angered her at the same time, when she had to write those letters, she could say for certain that this was not a part of the job she liked.

Minerva sighed.

She added her name and signature at the bottom of the letter, read it over again, then dropped her quill on the table and left the letter on the table to dry. She was about to pick up another letter, when the flames in the fireplace changed. They turned into green and then there was a silent "Ouch" and a witch walked into her office and the flames turned back into orange-yellow. Minerva pointed her wand at the intruder – she'd grabbed that the moment the fire changed, it was an old habit to be ready for a fight at any given moment. She looked at the younger woman in her office over her glasses and put the wand down.

"You were expecting me, right?" Hermione cleared from where she was standing on the carpet.

"Oh course, dear. I wasn't expecting you to arrive into my fireplace though," the older woman said.

Hermione brushed the ashes from her robes and climbed the stairs to meet her old professor.

"I was running late and I wouldn't have made it from the Hogsmeade in time. I should have sent an owl, but I don't think it would have arrived before me either, professor," Hermione said apologetically, then stopped. "I mean headmistress," she corrected herself.

Minerva brushed off Hermione's apologies and didn't make a remark for her change of title, even though she'd had the position for more than a decade now. Honestly she preferred to be called professor rather than headmistress.

"I was actually about to owl you," Minerva said and grabbed a letter from her desk.

Hermione sighed. "We have been expecting an owl from you ever since the first of September," she said half seriously.

McGonagall smiled for a brief second, then remained serious.

"You know it was 24 years ago, when yourself, mister Weasley and mister Potter entered the school. We were all so excited to have Harry here and I was pleased to have him in my house," McGonagall said. "To have all of you, of course," she added quickly.

"But he was the infamous Harry Potter," Hermione said and shook her head at the fame. Harry didn't like the fame most of the time, Hermione didn't like it at all and their son seemed to hate it.

"And now I have his son here," McGonagall added.

"Sirius is really happy to be placed in Gryffindor," Hermione said.

McGonagall smiled. "When Harry came to Hogwarts, he looked so much like James Potter and I prepared myself for another James. James was always in trouble, he and Sirius were like Fred and George Weasley from another era. Always in trouble, always looking for more trouble. Lily was quiet, exceptionally smart, charming and kind. I cared dearly for them both, but in the school years they were opposites. When I saw Harry, I was thinking to myself if he'd be more like James or Lily. I liked James, but I was hoping to see Lily in him. While Harry was smart, he was also always in trouble. He flew mister Weasley's car into Hogwarts and crashed into the whomping willow, he sneaked around the castle at nights and by that time I realized that I had another James in my hands. Harry probably broke just as many school rules as James did and probably many more that I don't know about," Minerva talked.

"I can assure you that he is not an animagi, so there's one thing," Hermione tried to make Harry look slightly better than his father, but McGonagall didn't seem to find much comfort in it.

McGonagall sighed and pushed the spectacles on her nose. "I know you were helping him and quite frankly I don't think he'd succeeded in many misadventures without your help," McGonagall said harshly.

Hermione looked guilty. She didn't know what to say, because it was mostly true. And what Hermione doesn't like to admit, some of the ideas were hers like brewing the Polyjuice potion.

McGonagall let it go. "And now Sirius James Potter entered Hogwarts," McGonagall moved on to the next Potter. "Yet again a son of two well known and capable wizards, who have very different traits. Sirius looks just like Harry and James before him, of course his name doesn't help much either. I was already preparing myself for the worst," she admitted.

Hermione laughed. "When Harry came up with the name, he said that it would probably terrify some professors in the future. Back then we didn't know that he'd look so much like Harry though," Hermione said.

"That is very much true," McGonagall confirmed. She handed Hermione the parchment, but Hermione just folded it and decided not to read it just yet. "I am still hoping to see glimpses of you in him," McGonagall admitted.

"So am I," Hermione said with laughter, McGonagall joined in. "He has my name, maybe that will be all," Hermione said. "On the plus side, he'll will probably be a good Quidditch player," she added on a lighter tone.

"I am pleased to hear that," McGonagall said, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Our youngest, Rose promised to be a good student like me if that helps," Hermione said and McGonagall seemed happy to hear about another good student like Hermione coming to Hogwarts. It was no secret she liked Hermione and would like to have more student like her in the school.

Hermione used the pause to open the parchment and read through it. She laughed for a moment, then frowned. Apparently, Sirius and Fred II were semi-dueling in the hallway by trying to disarm another, but neither had mastered the charm yet. Oddly it made sense, because it was favored by Harry. "I will have a chat with him before I head back," Hermione promised. "And then with Harry."

McGonagall accepted the answer and felt oddly proud of her former students. It felt natural with Hermione the strict and responsible one, and Harry rather loose and mischievous parent.

"You're giving them detention?" Hermione asked.

McGonagall nodded. "Two hours every day for two weeks and I took 20 points from Gryffindor," she said.

Hermione let out a deep breath. "Sirius feels pressure. He is famous and we had some reporters at the Kings Cross. He has Harry's legacy and he is named after James Potter and Sirius Black, he needs to learn how to manage all that. I hope once he is more settled in the school and his fame gets old, then he'll get his act together," she explained.

"I hope so too," McGonagall agreed.

She looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was nearly time. "We need to go now," McGonagall said.

Both women started walking out of the office. Hermione was in the school to talk with 7th year students about their future and the options Ministry is offering.

"How does Mr. Potter like being an auror?" McGonagall asked.

"He loves it. He liked being just an auror better than being the head of the auror office, he is really bad at paperwork and reports," Hermione explained. "And I don't think he likes having me as his boss too much either."

McGonagall chuckled.

"How's Neville doing?" Hermione asked. Neville had taken a position of Herbology professor some years earlier.

"He is doing great. Kids are really loving his classes and they are learning eagerly. He has definitely found his calling and I am lucky to have him," McGonagall said.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and headed towards the charms classroom on the third floor.

"Professor Flitwick wanted me to ask if you would care to stay for his lecture, they are starting with non-verbal spells and you were remarkable in mastering that skill," McGonagall said.

"Sure, I can stay. The only meeting I had planned was with my husband about his lack of skills when it comes to writing mission reports, but it can wait," Hermione said and thought that she could talk with Harry at home.

McGonagall chuckled. "I would also like to invite you to stay for dinner," she said and Hermione accepted that as well. The pair continued to talk about current news and happenings at the ministry on the way to the classroom.

"I don't think you need introduction with most of the class, but I'll do that and then you get the stage," McGonagall said.

Hermione nodded and braced herself. She went over her talking points in her head and checked to make sure she had the topic cards in her pocket.

"Pardon me, I can't seem to recall if you go by Potter or Granger," McGonagall said somewhat awkwardly. She was obviously in distress, about forgetting such detail, but she didn't want to make the mistake of calling Hermione by her maiden name after marriage, but she didn't think she'd ever heard anyone call her Hermione Potter, except Harry on a few occasions.

Hermione smiled. "Granger. Yes, I'm legally Granger-Potter, but professionally I use only Granger. I don't want Harry to be the first person everybody thinks of, when they hear my name. We try to keep our marriage on the downlow. Everybody always calls me Granger, except for Harry, but technically both names are correct," Hermione explained.

"Madam Granger," McGonagall confirmed.

Hermione winced at the title, it always made her feel old at madam, she much preferred miss, but she gave that title up years ago.

"Deputy head Granger," McGonagall tried.

Hermione nodded, both women shared a look and then they entered the classroom. McGonagall gave a brief introduction to Hermione, she mentioned her efforts in the war and her career in the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and then as the Deputy Head in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Hermione introduced the different departments, requirements to work in the ministry and different jobs it offered. After that she took questions. A lot of eager students were talking about becoming aurors and working with Harry Potter. Luckily not everybody knew that she was married to the man and some girls gushed over how it is to be the boss of The-Boy-Who-Lived. She noticed how Teddy snickered at the comments about Harry – he knew exactly how she has been bossing around The Chosen One at home and he was sure Hermione did that when they were still in school. Teddy also knew Harry as his godfather not some mystical Boy-Who-Lived, some days he'd forgotten that in Wizarding world Harry was a legend. There were some questions that were more informative and some less, but Hermione was glad to help the seniors with their choices.

After the class Teddy stayed in the room, pretending to ask about job in the auror department, while the others left.

"Good presentation Deputy Head," Teddy teased. Hermione gave her a look and gathered up her notes from the table. "You can still call me Hermione," she said.

Teddy chuckled. "Good to see not everybody here knows who you are, but they sure know Harry," he teased her.

"And I am glad that I am not famous Harry Potter, or his son for that matter," she said, put the notecards in her pocket and used wandless magic to get the chairs under the desks and make sure the classroom was clean.

"You're just his wife, and those girls had no idea," Teddy said casually. Hermione smiled briefly at the mention of her marital status. "I get it now, why you don't use his name. I don't think I'd use his either if I were you," he said and earned a look of approval from Hermione. "Some of these girls would be all over me if they'd knew that Harry is my godfather."

"He has always been popular with girls," Hermione commented, but she wasn't amused.

"I'm sure he is happy with the fangirls he has at home, you don't need to worry about some teenagers," Teddy assured her.

"I know, I'm not worried," Hermione said honestly. Yes, girls were interested in him and he had a teenage following, a little like Lockhart had and although Hermione is shamed to admit it, she was a fangirl to that fraud, when she was 12.

Hermione hugged Teddy, who had grown taller than her over the past year. "How's school?" she asked and changed the subject.

"It's okay. It's the time, when all the teachers are making sure we know how serious N.E.W.T.s are," Teddy said.

"They are serious and hard. You need to get at least 5 N.E.W.T.s to become an auror and all of them have to be above Exceeds Expectations. It's no joke, I meant it," Hermione said seriously.

Teddy laughed. "Don't worry I'll do fine. I'm a good student. It's not like I'm gonna skip my final year in Hogwarts," he said and pointed out yet again how Hermione skipped school with Ron and Harry. Teddy had taken it upon himself to remind it to Hermione as much as possible.

Hermione frowned, even though they did it for the greater good and they didn't ditch school to have fun, it was still something they had to own up to. And if their kids would later decide school is hard and want to quit, they can always say that their parents did the same thing. "You know why we did it, Teddy. And I came back and took my N.E.W.T.s," Hermione said tiredly.

"In days like this I'm glad I am not your son and I feel sorry for Sirius and Rose, for having an academic powerhouse like you as their mother. 10 O.W.L.s and 6 N.E.W.T.s is hard to get as it is and then getting outstanding in everything except DADA in O.W.L. level, which is ironic enough," Teddy said. He and the rest of the world knew that Hermione was excellent in fighting against the dark arts and nobody would dare question her skills, but it might still be the only subject in which Harry was and still is better than Hermione. She was not shy to admit it either.

Hermione rolled her eyes, she'd be happy if her kids would archive the same academic results, but she realized, that it might not happen. "Rose wanted me to tell you that she misses you and can't wait for Christmas," Hermione said.

Teddy smiled. "I miss her too. I bet she's hating being the only kid in house," Teddy said knowingly. Hermione nodded and reached down into her handbag. "She keeps asking for a baby sister and nagging us to borrow some younger Weasley, so she'd have a playmate," Hermione said with a smile.

Teddy burst out laughing. Hermione finally reached what she was looking for and pulled out a parchment with Weasley Wizarding Wheezes logo on it. "Ron sends his best," she said and handed him the package. "Awesome," Teddy said very excitedly.

"Other kids are jealous of the Weasley bunch and Sirius for having seemingly unlimited supply of Wheezes and they always have the best products, even before they hit the shops," Teddy said.

"They have completely unlimited supply of Wheezes, so does Harry," Hermione quipped.

Teddy laughed even harder. He had rather unlimited supply of the goods too, one of the perks of having large unrelated family, who all felt sorry for the orphan and took it upon themselves to make him feel loved.

"How is Sirius doing?" Hermione changed the topic again.

Teddy shrugged his shoulders. "Has McGonagall talked with you?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "I know about the dueling," she confirmed.

"You should also know that they were not successful. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, I think he and Fred learned their lesson. He's adapting to a life in school, where everybody knows his name and his fame. They know Harry, they know Sirius Black and James Potter. Just give the kid some time to adjust and he'll be fine. He's your son, so he's not stupid," Teddy said, which made Hermione relax a bit. "But he is also the son of Harry, so he might not be that bright," he added. Hermione rolled her eyes.

She looked at the time and realized they had to hurry into their next classes. Hermione promised to catch up with Teddy before she had to leave.

In the charms class professor Flitwick took his time to praise Hermione for her skills and how she showed great promise from the early age. Hermione summoned some of the books, then conjured a water goblet, filled it with vinegar and then turned it into wine wordlessly. That would also be the charm the students learn in 6th year. Later the students started practicing wordless magic, but starting with easier spells like summoning and levitation. Hermione and Flitwick helped the students, but only few of them managed to make the pillows at the end of the classroom move in any way, none of them were successful to make the spell work non-verbally.

Some of the students gushed over Hermione's presence more than others and some seemed to be too distracted by her.

After the class Hermione helped Flitwick get the pillows in order at the back of the class.

"I've been enjoying teaching our new first years. Sirius Potter doesn't lack confidence when it comes to charms, he is showing promise. In our last class he was one of few students to master the levitation charm. He takes after his mother and I'm sure he will be just as great," Flitwick complimented Sirius. Maybe there was something in him that resembled Hermione after all.

"I'm glad to hear that," Hermione said proudly.

They said their farewells and Hermione left the classroom. It was few hours until dinner time, but it was late enough that Sirius should be out of classes. While Hermione didn't know where to look for the boy, he was surely aware of Hermione's presence in Hogwarts.

Hermione looked to the right and left and made sure she was alone in the hallway. She was. She reached down to her enchanted handbag she had since the horcrux hunt and pulled out a piece of parchment.

She took her wand and pointed at it. "I swear that I am up to…" Hermione started, but realized she had said it wrong already. This was the first time she had to unlock the map, but she had used it many times with Harry and Ron. She'd snatched the map from Harry's drawer in the morning and she was intending to return it without Harry ever noticing she'd taken it. She could live without Harry's comments about her using the map, after she was more concerned with following the rules.

The messages appeared on the map, but they were not insulting as Hermione was dreading, they were slightly amusing in fact.

_Messer Moony would like to say that the swear has to be solemn Mrs. Potter. _

_Messer Padfoot thought Mrs. Potter was much brighter witch and would figure out this map. _

_Messer Prongs would like to greet his daughter-in-law and thank her for taking care of Harry. Also he would like to encourage Mrs. Potter to follow a mischief._

_Messer Wormtail…._

Then the messages faded. Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. There is no way that she'd been friends with them had they all gone to school together, but for a moment she laughed at the half-insults the map was giving her and the way they all seemed to agree on what to call her. She could almost picture Sirius and Remus sitting in the kitchen of Grimmauld place, drinking tea and teasingly calling her Potter. She wished they'd still be alive.

"I solemnly swear, that I'm up to no good," Hermione said and the map revealed its contents. She opened the map and looked for Sirius Potter, she noticed that her own name was Hermione Potter and she snorted. She was certain it was Harry's doing through James's magic in the map, but she didn't dwell on it. She also thought how much fun it would be for Sirius and James, if they'd know that there would be a child named Sirius Potter.

She noticed that Sirius was near the library with Premila – the daughter of Ron and Padma, Gerard – the son of Ginny and Dean and Fred II – the son of George and Angelina.

"Mischief managed," Hermione said and the map's contents disappeared. She shoved it back into her bag and hurried down the stairs towards the library. She wasn't surprised to see the group still there, when she made it there. They were laughing, but it stopped instantly, when Fred II noticed her and alarmed the others. Premila and Sirius were the only ones in the group, who didn't have red hair.

"Mrs. Granger," Fred II said, when Hermione reached them. All the kids greeted her.

"What brings you here?" Premila asked.

"I talked with the 7th year students about their career options in ministry," Hermione said. She noticed how Sirius was looking down and avoiding her. He looked so much like Harry did in his Gryffindor robes.

Hermione reached down in her bag, took out neatly packed parchments with the kids names and handed them the packages. "It's from the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, Ron dropped them off this morning," she explained. She handed a package to everybody, except Sirius.

Uncomfortable silence went over the kids, who just realized that Hermione had spoken with McGonagall and knew about the attempt on dueling.

"Guys, let's go, I have something to show you," Fred II said and the Weasleys left hurriedly. Sirius looked like he wanted to follow them, but he didn't.

Once alone, Hermione hugged Sirius and kissed the top of his head. Soon enough Sirius started whining and Hermione released him.

"How do you like Hogwarts?" she asked and they started walking in the hallway.

"It's awesome," he said and his eyes sparked up. He started talking about the ghosts and paintings on the walls and the Weasley clan and how much fun they were having. He added that he was doing better than Scorpius so far, like he'd promised Harry.

Hermione was glad he was doing well and liking the school, but she had to bring up the dueling incident. "I talked with McGonagall before about you dueling," Hermione said firmly. Sirius looked down. "I'm sorry, mom," he said sincerely. "If it makes it any better, the spell didn't work and nothing really happened," he tried.

"It doesn't," she said. "There are things you can't do here." Hermione could sense that the next argument Sirius was gonna have is that she and Harry had done things too, even though she never dueled in Hogwarts as a student for fun. "Just because your father did something, doesn't mean that you can do it too," she said.

"It won't happen again," Sirius promised.

"No, it won't," Hermione agreed with a strict voice.

The passed the great hall and headed to the courtyard. It was a lovely sunny day with some light breeze. The leaves were changing color beautifully, Hermione had always liked those days.

They sat down on the bench, Hermione looked over at the grounds and thought back into her days as a student.

"How are dad and Rose?" Sirius asked.

"Your dad misses you a lot and Rose keeps complaining that she's bored without you. She doesn't have anyone to play with. I have to admit it is really quiet at home," Hermione talked with a small smile.

Sirius laughed. "I will be there at Christmas," he promised.

Hermione smiled and reached down her bag again, she pulled out another wrapped parchment with Sirius's name on it and handed it to the boy. He looked happy. "I thought I was punished," Sirius said warily.

"You are," Hermione confirmed. "But I know if Ron heard that I didn't give you your package, he'd send you one himself, maybe even two," she said knowingly. "For your punishment you have detention, if you behave from here on, then we can let this one go."

Sirius lighted up. "It won't," he said, but Hermione was certain he would be in trouble again. He liked tricks and pranks and when he'd learn more magic, he'd surely try to break some rules with the Weasleys, but for now, she chose to believe him.

"How's the fame you were worried about?" Hermione asked.

"It's pretty cool," the boy said. "Everybody wants to know about dad and hear the war stories and confirm some rumors and urban legends. They are less curious about you, which is funny."

"Funny, how?" Hermione asked and raised an eyebrow.

Sirius snickered. "You are more important now, you are dad's boss," he said innocently.

Hermione smiled and ruffled Sirius' hair. "Your dad has legacy that I can never beat. He will be known for generations to come," Hermione said.

Sirius opened the parchment and his face grew as he realized what Ron had sent, Hermione had given up figuring out the Wheezes and stayed away, but Sirius tried to explain what he had received anyway. A shadow fell over them, Hermione looked up and noticed a boy with electric blue hair standing over them.

"I got the same things," Teddy said and pointed at the Wheezes. He handed Hermione a package he was holding, it had Rose's name on it. "To Rose," he said and Hermione nodded. She dropped it off to her bag. Rose and Teddy were very close, some days Hermione thought that Rose admired Teddy more than she liked her, Harry or Sirius.

"It's dinner time," Teddy said.

Hermione helped Sirius get the Wheezes in his bag, then the trio walked back to the Great Hall. While Teddy sat down at the Hufflepuff table, Sirius joined the Weasleys at Gryffindor table, then Hermione had a spot at the teacher's table, between McGonagall and Flitwick.

***HP***

Hermione landed at the fireplace in Grimmauld place much later than expected. The lights were on at the living room, Harry was reading a newspaper on the couch and Rose was sitting on the floor playing with… a cat.

Hermione brushed the dust off her clothes and looked on the floor just to make sure, they really had a cat. It really was there. It was a big ginger cat, oddly similar to Crookshanks – it had long fur, but it was still a kitten. Rose was so preoccupied with the animal, who was purring loudly, that she failed to notice Hermione's arrival.

"I thought you stayed in Hogwarts and decided to take some N.E.W.T.s you don't have," Harry said, but didn't look up.

"Very funny," Hermione said, but didn't laugh, "At least I have N.E.W.T.s unlike someone else," she said casually. She stood behind Harry and placed her hands on his shoulders. "We have a cat," she said, kissed Harry's hair and looked at her daughter.

"Yes, dear," Harry said without taking his eyes off the paper.

Hermione leaned down, crossed her hands at his chest and kissed his cheek from behind. "Since when do we have a cat?" she asked.

Harry smiled and finally set down the paper. He swallowed hard, looked over his daughter and then turned to his wife. He caught her lips and kissed her quickly. "You know how I can't say no to her," Harry started.

"Yes," Hermione said and rolled her eyes.

"After I picked her up from the Burrow, I promised to go to Diagonal Alley to pick up the new book about advanced potions making for you. Once there of course we went to get ice cream from reopened Fortescue's parlor and then Rose saw the kittens at Magical Menagerie and I couldn't say no," Harry explained. He also pointed to the table, where a brand-new potions book was with another rattled book titled "The Life and Trials of Herbert Granger."

"I saw that in front of the secondhand book shop and I thought he might be your great-great-great grandfather or something. You must have had some wizards in your family no matter how distant," he explained.

Hermione smiled and kissed Harry in gratitude. "I'm not angry, I think it's good to have a pet in the house," she said.

Rose finally lifted her head and noticed that Hermione was home. "Mommy look, daddy got me a kitten," she beamed proudly.

"I can see that, baby," Hermione said with a genuine smile. She walked around the couch and hugged Rose on the floor.

"Rosie, tell mommy the name of your kitten," Harry coaxed with a smile.

Hermione looked between Harry and Rose, she thought the cat had some common name like Kitty, she didn't see anything bad in that. "Her name is Crooky," Rose said proudly and Hermione felt a warm feeling coming over her. Her Crookshanks had died just before Sirius' birth and neither of her kids ever met her beloved pet.

"It's a beautiful name," Hermione said.

"It was daddy's idea," Rose said and started playing with the cat again. Hermione sat down on the couch next to Harry, she kissed him as properly as she ever would with Rose in the room.

"I figured you wouldn't be mad if I got her a cat like you had," Harry explained.

Hermione leaned onto Harry and relaxed after a long day. "I think it was a great idea," Hermione said.

Harry agreed. They both looked over Rose as she played with her new kitten and only Crooky got any attention from her.

"How are things at Hogwarts?" Harry asked casually.

Hermione fished out the letter from her bag and gave it to Harry. "Our son tried to duel," she said. "He and Fred II tried to disarm each other, but neither could work the spell and no harm was done."

Harry felt oddly proud of Sirius and mad at the same time. Even he didn't duel on his first year not to talk about his first month, they had stayed off trouble until Halloween, when they had a meeting with a troll and he became friends with Hermione.

"He has detention for two weeks," Hermione added.

"Well it took him two weeks longer than we thought it would for him to get into trouble. That must be a good sign," Harry said and Hermione agreed, even though she'd prefer never to get a letter like that from McGonagall.

"Let's hope he can stay away from trouble for now," Hermione said.

Harry kissed the top of her head. "You gave him the Wheezes, right?" he asked. Hermione nodded against his shoulder. "Yeah, they'll be in trouble soon enough," he said quietly and Hermione agreed.

Hermione picked up the book about Herbert Granger and opened it. It was old and rattled, someone had written on the first page, but nothing was readable. She yawned, put the book back on the table and snuggled into Harry. It had been a long day.

Surely enough Rose started yawning as well, Harry gave a look at his tired daughter and then felt Hermione's body getting heavier against him and he decided to call it a night.

"Okay, ladies, it's time for bed," he said and got up from the couch. Hermione protested loudly against the removal of his body, she fell forward and didn't even try to stop her fall. Harry picked up Rose, who was laughing and protesting against being removed from her pet.

"Can Crooky sleep with me?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, sure," Harry said, then looked at Hermione, who gave no objections – no reaction to be precise. Harry held Rose with one hand, he secured her against his chest and fixed her brown curls with the other.

He glanced at Hermione who seemed to be comfortable with spending the night on the couch. Harry stood in front of her, but she didn't react. "Will you find the bed on your own Mrs. Potter or do you need to be taken there?" he asked teasingly.

"I can get there on my own," she said, but didn't open her eyes. She was out of it. Harry lowered Rose to her and let Rose kiss Hermione's cheek. "Good night, mommy," she said.

"Night, baby," she said and smile appeared on her face.

Harry smiled and headed to Rose's bedroom, he called for Crooky, who followed the pair up the stairs. Harry already made plans to come back down and make sure his wife would make it to the bed too, there was no way he was going to let her sleep on the couch.

"Will you read to me, daddy?" Rose asked.

"Of course, what do you want to read tonight?" Harry asked. They had shelves of children's books, most of them from muggle world both Harry and Hermione grew up wit those stories and Rose seemed to like them just as much as Sirius did.

"The one with lions," Rose said excitedly.

Harry smiled. Rose loved the Lion King storybook, she loved the movie too and they had seen that many times over the years. Harry and Hermione had decided to expose their kids to the muggle world and their bringing up wasn't much different from muggle kids. They seemed to like it and Artur Weasley was over the moon over all the little things. He loved coming over and just observing how Hermione and Harry used the TV or VHS player amongst other things.

Harry put Rose down, handed her pajamas and instructed her to brush her teeth and promised to be back to read story. He had to make sure his wife found their bed, but he doubted she'd moved from the couch. It was better to get her to bed right away, rather than waking her up later.

He was right, Hermione was still on the couch, but she wasn't asleep. "Dear, it's time to go to bed," he said sheepishly.

"I like the couch, it's comfortable," Hermione protested.

"Our bed is much more so," Harry said and kneeled on the floor by her side. He put his hand against her shoulder and moved his hand up and down over her back.

"You're working too much, you've been tired for weeks now," Harry said.

Finally Hermione opened her eyes and got up in a sitting position. She yawned, ran her fingers over her face and sighed. "It's not from work," she said.

Harry positioned himself between her legs, he rested his palms on her thighs and waited for her to say something, but she didn't. "Feeling old, Potter?" he teased.

"Merlin, I hope not," she said.

Harry was completely at lost and Hermione must have realized it. She scooted to the edge of the couch, wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him.

"I'm pregnant," she revealed casually.

Harry was taken back – his mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. Part of him wanted to sink into the ground and the other into her, torn between being surprised and completely taken back, he remained completely still. Hermione studied his reaction intensely.

"What?" he asked to clarify what he had heard. Chances were that he misheard Hermione.

"I'm pregnant," Hermione repeated.

Harry was still having hard time processing the news. Hermione tilted her head and moved her fingers into his hair, she messed with the already messy hair, while Harry took in the news.

"Babe, you okay?" she finally asked.

Harry nodded absentmindedly. "This is real?" he asked. Hermione nodded with a smile. They were interrupted: "Daddy!" a shout came from upstairs.

"We're not done talking about this," Harry said firmly.

"I don't think we even started talking about it," Hermione said.

Harry smiled, for some reason he had hard time wrapping his head around the news, like he was scared that he misinterpreted her or that it might disappear at any given moment, or maybe he'd wake up and realize it was just a dream. It felt different from the other times they had learned about her pregnancy.

He pushed those thoughts aside and went to read to Rose. She fell asleep quickly for Harry's luck and he found himself walking to his bedroom with excitement.

Hermione was waiting in the bed, she was reading the same newspaper he had read before and she didn't seem as tired anymore. He closed the door behind him and locked it, Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You're pregnant?" he asked.

"Yes," she said calmly, she folded the paper and placed it on the nightstand.

"How long?" he asked.

"Seven weeks, it's still early," she said.

Harry did some math in his head. "So a month ago, when I asked you to have another baby…" Harry started. "…I was already pregnant," Hermione finished for him. Harry undid his tie and pulled that over his head, he dropped his jacket on the floor, then stopped. "But you said the timing isn't right," he recalled.

Hermione let out a heavy breath, while Harry continued undressing. "The timing still isn't right," she agreed.

"But you are pregnant?" he asked again.

"Yes," Hermione said. This was new. Harry hadn't reacted like this the other times she told him that she was pregnant. "Are you okay?" she asked, because he was freaking her out.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said absentmindedly. He'd stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt, but he was still standing by the foot of the bed. Hermione tilted her head. "I thought you wanted another baby," she said, because she couldn't read if Harry was happy or not. He seemed quite indifferent.

"I thought you didn't," he said.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "The timing is not right, it's gonna complicate our lives and we need to figure something out in the coming months. Maybe I can work from home some days and you the others. We could hire a nanny even," Hermione talked.

Harry smiled, he couldn't stop smiling actually. He climbed into the bed with a goofy smile on his lips. He came on top of her and kissed her passionately. That is the reaction she was waiting for and the reaction she was more familiar with.

"I thought you were on the potion, how did this happen?" Harry asked.

He pushed himself to her side, popped his head up his elbow and placed his palm on her abdomen over her shirt. It didn't feel different under his palm, but soon it would be.

"I must have forgotten to drink it one day and the result is here," she said.

Harry smiled broadly, kissed Hermione and settled down at her side again. Then his face grew serious, he was thinking. "I haven't noticed any signs yet – you haven't been throwing up, your breasts haven't been sore. Maybe you have been a little more tired, but you've been working really hard," Harry said, to show his point he moved his hand upwards and cupped her breast, but she didn't wince and hiss like she did with her previous pregnancies, when she was sore.

"No, I feel fine," Hermione confirmed.

"Then how did you know to check if you're pregnant?" Harry asked.

There was a spell witches used to check if they're pregnant, Hermione had done it the muggle way with Sirius and she later confirmed it with the spell. With Rose it was Harry, who performed the spell on her. The spell is rather simple, but it's not taught in school classes, it is seemingly passed down from generation of women to another in the girl's dormitory. Hermione learned it from the older students, namely Angelina Johnson (now Weasley) and Katie Bell. To perform it one must tap their wand against subject's abdomen twice and then say "Fetus fetulicious," and then either a plus or minus sign will appear from the wand, for a plus sign a number will be accompanied and that marks number of weeks.

Just because the potion was only 99,6% effective some women, like Hermione, performed the spell on them occasionally as a precaution or if they had forgotten the potion or think they might have forgotten it. The spell is far more accurate than muggle pregnancy test and positive sign appears even if it is mere days or supposedly even hours after conception.

"I occasionally check with the spell, you know I do," Hermione said and looked away as if she was trying to hide something.

"How long have you known then?" Harry asked, if she'd known for awhile, then it would make no sense for her to break the news randomly like that unless she'd just found out, but the question remains why she performed the spell that night.

"I just found out today, I wouldn't have kept it from you," she said.

"So you just randomly checked if you're pregnant today in Hogwarts?" Harry asked and raised his eyebrows. Something was off, he didn't think it was bad, maybe just something Hermione didn't want to admit, but Harry would find it amusing. Or Hermione could simply have been proven wrong. Whatever it was, Harry knew that she wasn't telling him something and he wanted to know what it was. He probably wanted to know it much more just because she didn't want to talk.

Hermione nodded.

Harry nodded sarcastically, then distracted Hermione by kissing her. While doing that he climbed on top of her and caught her hands, then he pulled away, and got into sitting position over her lower abdomen and held her hands tight against the mattress on her side.

"You're not telling me something," he said knowingly.

"I am not having an affair, the kid is yours," she said with a heavy breath and tone of annoyance.

Harry smiled. "I never thought that," he wouldn't accuse Hermione of infidelity, he knew she was faithful. "Babe, I'm the head of Auror office and I happen to be very skilled in interrogation," he said confidently, "I have you in perfect position for questioning and I am not above using my auror training on you," he added half-seriously.

"Really?" she asked with a mischievous smile. Harry nodded enthusiastically. "I should remind you that I am very good at wandless magic," she said, "and in nonverbal magic."

"I'm pretty good at that too," Harry added, but it wasn't relevant.

"And I outrank you," she teased.

Harry released her hands, but she didn't move them, she didn't do anything. "I know there is something you don't want me to know. Let me remind you that we are married and married people don't keep secrets from each other. I always tell you about everything," he said, slightly resigned already.

She sighed heavily. "You can never tell anyone, specially Ron or Sirius or Rose, and I mean it," she said in all seriousness.

Harry tried not to look too enthusiastic, but he failed tremendously. He climbed off her and sat beside her. Hermione also got up and sat up with her back against the headboard. Harry crossed his legs and waited eagerly at her side.

"First of all, if this is the way you usually interrogate suspects, then we need to go over your methods and effectiveness," she said seriously.

Harry shook his head. "It's the interrogation I'm only using with you," he said sweetly, but it didn't affect her. "We will have a meeting tomorrow before lunch about it just to make sure," she said, she made a note to herself about the meeting. Then she turned back to Harry and returned to the original topic, not that she wanted though.

"So, I accepted the invite to have dinner at Hogwarts and I sat with the teachers," Hermione started and Harry nodded, he'd expected as much. "At the table, there were McGonagall, Sprout, Hooch, Neville, Flitwick, Slughorn, Pomfrey, Hagrid, new DODA professor Rodgers, Vector, Babbling and Trelawney," she counted and swallowed. She paused before continuing. "12 people at the dinner table and when I sat down, McGonagall said to me, that Trelawney will surely say something about 13 people dining together," she explained. Both knew about the incident in which Trelawney refused to sit down, because there was already 12 people at the table and when 13 dine together, the first to rise will die first – or so Trelawney believed.

"Did she make another prediction about death?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "McGonagall said that to me, because usually they avoid thirteen, but that day I happened to be thirteenth to join the table," Hermione said and then sighed again. "Trelawney must've heard that and said that she isn't worried, because one of us is actually two people," she said in disbelief.

Harry furrowed his brow. "And it had to be you because you were the last to sit down, otherwise there had been 13 people already at the table," Harry deducted. Hermione nodded. "And I was the only one still below 50 and female," she added.

Harry burst into laughter.

"McGonagall asked me the question and of course I said no, I didn't think I was. I took my time explaining to everybody, who tried to congratulate me, that there is nothing to congratulate me about. I only went to the bathroom after the dinner and did the test to prove her wrong," she said with distress.

"Except you proved her right," Harry said and realized why she'd been so hesitant and seemingly in a bad mood. He leaned over and put his palm against her abdomen. "When you sat down it was 14 dining together, because you are two people in one body," he said with a goofy smile.

"I still think divination is a hoax," she repeated her views on the subject, Harry had of course known that ever since they were thirteen.

"She had been right quite a few times, babe," Harry teased.

Hermione crossed her arms at her chest and pouted. If there was something Hermione hated, it was being proven wrong and finding that Trelawney had been right about her was definitely something to piss her off cordially.

He knew he shouldn't, but Harry quite enjoyed himself. He loved Hermione, but it was still welcomed to see her being mistaken once in blue moon. Harry found himself less concerned with the fact that Trelawney had seen Hermione's pregnancy before they learned about it.

"Technically she didn't predict anything, she just announced that you already were pregnant," Harry tried to make the situation better for her. Hermione rolled her eyes. "You think she could see into me, quite literally?" she asked. Harry didn't have an answer.

He realized, that he can't undo Trelawney's comment and Hermione will probably lose herself in trying to figure out how Trelawney could've known in the coming days and there is nothing he could say that would change her mind. Hermione had a lot of willpower and she'd do anything she set her mind to, Harry had learned long time ago not to question her and simply fall in line.

Harry moved his hand on her abdomen and smiled. He leaned forward and kissed Hermione passionately, her respond to him was much less eager. She wasn't stopping him nor was she giving no reaction to him, she just didn't share his enthusiasm. In any other day, he might look past it and write it off as tiredness, but not that night. He pulled away from her. Whereas he couldn't wipe off the smile from his face, she didn't seem to have that problem. To think of it, she'd been much too calm and indifferent the whole night.

"You're not happy," he said. Harry put some distance between them, his palm stayed firmly against her abdomen over her shirt.

Hermione didn't reply instantly and Harry tensed. "Are you thinking of terminating the pregnancy?" he asked fearfully.

"No," she said firmly and looked into his eyes to let him know, she wasn't even thinking about it. "No, I don't want to terminate the pregnancy, that thought never crossed my mind," she said clearly, Harry relaxed.

"Like I said, the timing is all wrong and it's gonna be harder this time. I'm just trying to figure it all out," Hermione gave him an explanation for her lack of emotions. It didn't quite answer Harry's question though. He asked her again if she's happy. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "I think I am happy about it, but I don't know. I don't trust my emotions. I'm overwhelmed mostly," she elaborated.

Yes, Harry remembered quite fondly the way her mood would swing and emotions change in the blink of an eye with the previous pregnancies. That threw her off, as she relied on logic and facts, but pregnancy brought her emotions into the forefront. She avoided being emotional at all costs, so it was a nice change.

Harry smiled, kissed her lips again and this time he got the eager response from her that he was looking for. "I love you so much right now, Hermione Potter," he said with a wide smile. "And I love you, My Chosen One," she replied. Harry took her hand and kissed his ring on her finger, Hermione giggled like a schoolgirl. He took the hem of her shirt and pulled it up. He placed his palm against her tender skin covering her belly button. Hermione flinched and shivered. "You hand is cold," she complained.

Harry removed his hand and replaced it with his mouth. He kissed her abdomen all over, he even moved her pants lower for more access. Hermione giggled. "You're ticklish," she accused. Harry moved his hand and put his finger over her lips. "I'm greeting my youngest, don't interrupt, you have her or him with you at all times," Harry said.

Hermione smiled and nodded against his hand. She looked down at her husband, who was in the middle of caressing and kissing her abdomen. She found it slightly amusing. She hadn't felt any difference since she found out she was with a baby again, but Harry's world seemed to be turned around. For him it already seemed real, for her it was anything but.

Harry started talking with the baby. His lips were against her skin and she couldn't make out the words, she didn't even try. She picked up the discarded newspaper from the nightstand and continued reading about the latest article about ministry official, who made a commodity in London by wearing red clothes with Soviets symbols on them. He was apprehended by muggle police, but luckily no memories had to be removed. She knew it might take awhile and she preferred to give Harry some time with her abdomen, however weird it sounded.

Harry peeked through from under the paper with puppy eyes and caught Hermione's attention, when she was nearly done with the paper. "You done?" she asked with raised eyebrow.

"I'm just getting started, wife," he said and pushed the paper out of his way. "I am so happy right now," he said and climbed on top of her, he pulled her down on the bed and showed off his skills of wandless magic as he put the silencer spell on their room.

"I am becoming daddy again," he said cheerfully, "and you'll be mommy again."

Hermione smiled. "Babe, we've been mommy and daddy for 11 years," she reminded him.

"But we'll get a new baby. You know this is the tie breaker," Harry realized. "Tie breaker?" Hermione asked. "Sirius looks like me and Rose like you, Sirius said mommy first and Rose daddy, we are tied. The little one will decide whose genes are stronger," Harry explained.

Hermione laughed. "And if she or he will like books or Quidditch," Hermione added.

"Rose will be so happy," Harry said happily, "I can't wait to tell her and Sirius."

She nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started toying with his messy hair at his nape. "We should put off telling everybody for awhile now. We've always waited until I'm in second trimester," she said. "I have to tell Kingsley though, we need to plan ahead my maternity leave and the laws we are trying to pass, so I can take some time off."

Harry's eyes grew wide and he pushed himself up on his hands, he looked terrified. "Your father is gonna kill me," Harry realized suddenly.

"I'll talk with dad, he'll be happy for us," Hermione promised.

Harry shook his head. "You weren't there, you dad threatened me. I had a feeling he wanted to kill me, but didn't for your sake," Harry explained.

Hermione caressed his neck and smiled. "He loves me, he just wants what best for me," she explained. "My dad likes you, he can be a little scary, but he wouldn't hurt you. He knows how much I love you and deep inside he knows that you are a good guy, who loves me."

"So you think he'll be okay?" he asked shyly.

Hermione nodded, she pulled him back down against her. "He might be a little angry at you, but he and my mom will be happy to have another grandkid, trust me," she said. Harry still didn't seem too convinced. "I promise I will make it up to you, whatever you want," she added. That must've done the trick, because he pressed his lips to hers again and rolled them over so he was on his back and Hermione on top of her.

"I'll hold you to it," he said with every intention to ask her for whatever he desired the most.

She kissed him hungrily, positioned herself better on top of her and brushed against him just the right way. "Mmm, 'Mione, he mused against her lips.

"We're celebrating tonight," she told him, Harry knew exactly what it meant, he smiled against her and rolled them over again. "Yes, we are," he confirmed, but that was just formality, because at this moment, he didn't have a word in the matter.

She turned off the lights, but the room was still moderately lit with the moonlight beaming through the window. And in that moonlit room Hermione and Harry Potter made love for hours to celebrate the result of their lovemaking some 7 weeks prior.

In the next morning Hermione woke up feeling like she'd been in a wrestling match with a troll. She felt a pile getting closer to her throat and she tried swallowing, but that only made her realize that she was about to vomit. Quickly she untangled herself from Harry, she didn't even care if she woke him or not -she did. Quickly she padded through the bedroom into the bathroom and squatted over the toilet bowl just before she emptied her stomach. She flushed and cursed as she sat down on the floor. She didn't miss this part of being pregnant.

There was a silent knock on the door. "Hermione?" Harry asked quietly. He didn't hear her reply, but he heard a sound of somebody throwing up violently on the other side of the door. "I'm coming in," he said, but he was already through the door, when the words got out of his mouth.

"Go away," she protested, but he ignored her. Harry squatted by her side, collected her long bushy hair in his hand and placed his other palm on her back. She vomited again and coughed nastily over the bowl. Once done she leaned against him, he flushed the toilet.

"You think you're done?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know, I don't think so," she said, closed her eyes and made a face at the taste of acid in her mouth. Harry conjured a glass of water from thin air and handed it to her. She took a few sips, but soon enough put the glass on the floor and leaned over the toilet bowl once more. Another wave of sickness hit her body, she jolted and retched over the bowl until all that was left was dry heaving.

Harry winced. He got the familiar feeling of helplessness at her side, all he could do was hold her hair, offer her water, comfort her and if necessary, take all the insults she might or might not throw at him.

"Now I'm done," she said finally and leaned against the bathtub. Harry sat beside her, offered her water again and this time she finished the glass. He released her hair, wrapped his arms around her shoulder and hugged her from behind. "I wish I could make it better for you," he said sincerely.

Hermione made a noise at the back of her throat, she leaned against him and placed her head on his shoulder. "My mouth tastes bad," she complained.

Harry summoned her toothbrush and toothpaste. She took the items but didn't start brushing just yet.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It's still early, we have time," he replied. It was almost five, when he got up and followed her, they usually woke around 6 and their workday started at 7 am.

She took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant again," she stated. It was only hitting her then, last night she didn't feel anything and the news was somewhat surreal.

"Yes, you are," Harry said with a smile, he hugged her tighter against him. She came to him easily, wrapped her fingers around his forearm and kissed his shoulder through his t-shirt. "We can do this, right? We can have our third kid and we can still have a career, right?" she asked hesitantly.

"We can and we will. We will figure it out and it'll be okay. I promise," he made a promise to her. He figured he could work from home on some days and other days he could take their kid with him to work and when he or she is older, then there is a daycare center in the Ministry.

Hermione thanked him. "I need to get off this floor now," she said seriously. Harry was quicker, he jumped off the floor and helped her up.

They heard Rose's voice calling for them. "Go, I need a moment," she said. Harry kissed her hair, then stormed out of the bathroom to see what woke their daughter up. Hermione studied herself in front of the mirror, her eyes were red, there were dried salty tears on her cheeks, she looked like a mess with her bushy hair and exhausted expression.

"We can do this. I can do this," she whispered to herself, put some toothpaste on the brush and started brushing. The taste of mint replaced the taste of her vomit and it made her feel slightly better.

She was pregnant again and it was going to be all right.


End file.
